Photoshop Effects: Easy Soft Focus And Glow Effect

Written By Steve Patterson
In this Adobe Photoshop tutorial, we're going to look at how to quickly and easily add a soft focus and glow effect to a photo, which also happens to do a nice job of boosting the image's contrast and color saturation. I've been using this technique with my photos for years and it's still just as popular today. Whether you're a wedding photographer, nature photographer or you simply enjoy taking photos of family and friends, give this effect a try and see if it doesn't make your images look a bit more magical.
Here's the photo I'll be working with in this tutorial:
And here's how it will look after adding our soft glow:

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Let's get started!

Step 1: Duplicate The Background Layer

With our image newly opened in Photoshop, we can see if we look in our Layers palette that we currently have one layer which is the Background layer. The Background layer is the layer that contains our original image:

Photoshop Glow Effect: Photoshop's Layers palette showing the original image on the Background layer.

We need to duplicate this layer, and the easiest way to do that is by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac). If we look again in our Layers palette, we can see that we now have two layers - the Background layer on the bottom and a copy of the Background layer, which Photoshop has automatically named "Layer 1", above it:

Photoshop Glow Effect: The Layers palette now showing two layers.

Step 2: Change The Blend Mode Of "Layer 1" To "Overlay"

With "Layer 1" selected in the Layers palette (the currently selected layer is highlighted in blue), go up to the Blend Mode option in the top left corner of the Layers palette. It's the drop-down box that's currently set to "Normal". Click on the down-pointing arrow and select the Overlay blend mode from the list:

Photoshop Glow Effect: Changing the blend mode of "Layer 1" to "Overlay".

If you recall from our Five Essential Blend Modes For Photo Editing tutorial, the Overlay blend mode is part of the Contrast group of blend modes because it boosts image contrast, and it also tends to boost color saturation as well. If we look at our image now after changing the blend mode to Overlay, we can see that sure enough, the contrast and color saturation have both been increased dramatically:

Photoshop Glow Effect: The image after changing the blend mode of "Layer 1" to "Overlay".

Step 3: Apply The "Gaussian Blur" Filter

Believe it or not, we're almost done! We can now add our soft focus / glow effect to the photo. With "Layer 1" still selected, go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, choose Blur, and then choose Gaussian Blur. This brings up Photoshop's Gaussian Blur dialog box.
At the bottom of the dialog box, you'll see a slider bar which controls the Radius value. The higher you set the Radius value, the more blurring you'll apply to the layer. Drag the slider towards the right until the Radius value is somewhere around 8 pixels. You may want to set the value a bit higher if you're using a high resolution image. The best thing to do is to keep an eye on your image in the document window as your drag the slider to see what effect it's having. Make sure you have the Preview option checked in the top right corner of the dialog box. If you set the Radius value too high, the soft focus effect will be too subtle, so try to stick with lower Radius values:

Photoshop Glow Effect: Dragging the slider at the bottom of the Gaussian Blur dialog box to set the Radius value.

When you're happy with the effect, click OK to exit out of the dialog box, and you're done! Here's my photo after applying the Gaussian Blur:

Photoshop Glow Effect: The final result.

Step 4: Lower The Opacity Of "Layer 1" (Optional)

If you find that the effect appears too strong, try lowering the Opacity of "Layer 1". You'll find the Opacity option in the top right corner of the Layers palette directly across from the Blend Mode option. Here I'm lowering the opacity to around 60%:

Photoshop Glow Effect: Lowering the opacity of "Layer 1" to reduce the intensity of the effect.

The soft focus effect now appears less intense:

Photoshop Glow Effect: The image after lowering the opacity of "Layer 1".

Step 5: Change The Blend Mode To "Soft Light" (Optional)

Another easy way to reduce the intensity of the effect is to change the blend mode of "Layer 1" from "Overlay" to Soft Light:

Photoshop Glow Effect: Changing the blend mode of "Layer 1" to "Soft Light".

The Soft Light blend mode is also part of the Contrast group of blend modes, but its effect is much more subtle than what the Overlay blend mode gives us:

Photoshop Glow Effect: The image after changing the blend mode of "Layer 1" to "Soft Light".

And there we have it! That's how easy it is to add a soft focus and glow effect to an image with Photoshop!

Nowhere boy

John Lennon 1940 – 1980

John Lennon was murdered just before 11 pm on the 8^th December  1980 outside his home in Dakota Apartment Building in New York City. He had just got out of a car, and was walking to entrance when voice called ” Mr Lennon”, Lennon turned, and was shot five times.

 The killer threw his gun down, and stood there smilling, “Do you know wat you just did?” shouted the doorman, “I just shot John Lennon”, the killer replied. After that, Lennon was rushed to hopistal in police patrol car, but it was too late, The killer was 25 year-old Mark Chapman form Haiwaii.

Earlier the same evening he had asked John Lennon for his autograph. In fact, he had been hanging around outside the apartment building for several days, Chapman was a fan of the Beatles and Lennon, and had tried to iminate him many ways. It’s said that he even believed that he was John Lennon.

Biographical notes:

1940: Born Liverpool.

1942: Lennon family deserted by father. Mother leaves. John brought up by aunt.

1956: Form pop group at school.

1957: Student at Liverpool College of Art.

1958: Mother killed in road accident.

1960: Goes professional as one of “The Beatles” (John Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Best, Sutcliffe). Playing in Hamburg, Germany.

1961: Plays in Hamburg and Liverpool, Sutcliffe, the Lennon’s best friend dies of a brain tumour. Brain Epstein begins to manage the Beatles.

1963: Ringo Starr replace Pete Best drumper. Married Cynthia Powell, an art student. The Beatles first record “Love me do”. First TV appearance.

1963: Three record Number One in British top 20. Incredible popularity, son, Julian, born.

1964: First hit record in USA “I want to hold your hand”. Two USA tour. In April, Beatles record at number 1,2,3,4 and 5 in US Top 20. First film “A Hard Day’s Night”. First book.

1965: “Help!” Beatles second film. Beatlemania at its height. US tour. Huge audience in football stadiums. Beatles receive MBE (special honorary award) from Queen Elizabeth.

1966: Lennon in the film ”How I won the war” – not musical. Meets Yoko Ono, Japenese avant-garde artist.

1967: “Segeant Pepper” – Beatles most famous LP. All the Beatles interested in meditation. Manager brian Epstein found dead form sleeping-pill overdose.

1968: In India with Beatles for meditation. Beatles company “Apple” founded. Lennon art exhibition “You are hee”. Lennon divoreed by wife.

1969: Beatles film “Let it be”. Rummours of quarrels about money. Talk of Beatles break up, Beatles’s last performance on roof of Apple Building. Lennon and Yoko Ono marry. He 29. She 36. Lennon still recording with Beatles but some work solo.

1970: McCartney leaves the Beatles. Others start solo careers.

1971: Lennon LP “Imagine” – most successful LP. Lennon and Yoko Ono in New York one-room apartment.

1972: Lennon and Yoko separate. Lennon ordered to leave USA – protests and appeals.

1974: Drink problem – one and half bottles of spiritsc a day. Still fighting deportation.

1975: Lennon and Yoko together again in New York. Permission to stay in USA. Son Sean born October 9^th (Lennon’s birthday).

1976: Full time father. Very close relationship with son. Owns seven apartment in same block-one as a cold-store for fur coats.

1980: First record for six years. LP “Double Fantasy”. Simple “Staring Over”. Good reviews from critics. Many said it was “a new beginning”. Dec 8^th Lennon murdered. Massive media coverage. TV and radio programmes interrupted to give news. Record companies on overtime to produce records.

1981: In January and February three records at Number 1 in British Top 20: “(Just Like) Staring Over”. “Imagine” and “Woman”.